Hashimoto’s Thyroid

January is Thyroid Awareness Month, so we are investigating the latest research studies in the two autoimmune thyroid conditions: Hashimoto’s and Graves’ Disease (learn about the latest in Graves’ disease research here).  The focus of this post is about Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, also known as chronic autoimmune thyroiditis.  In Hashimoto’s, the body’s immune cells mistakenly attack the thyroid gland, resulting in destruction of tissue and a hypothyroid

On Labor Day Monday my husband and I welcomed our baby daughter into the world!  As appropriate as it was to deliver on this national holiday, it also began my journey into postpartum.  Since then my thyroid levels have continued to sway from one side of the spectrum to the other. Prior to my due date I had a routine blood test to check my

Hashimoto’s disease (chronic autoimmune thyroiditis) is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in iodine-sufficient areas of the world.  Autoantibodies directed against thyroid cells and tissue result in destruction of parts of the gland, and a consequent hypothyroid state, with reduced levels of thyroid hormones in the bloodstream.  Though many women will proceed through their pregnancy with little or no complications, Hashimoto’s does present some special

I felt like absolute crap.  But who wouldn’t, with five kids under age 10 — including a set of twins, who were still not sleeping through the night?  Which essentially equated to being up.  All.  Night.  Long.  So as they turned 2 years old, I told my husband I could not do the night-time parenting anymore, that I had moved beyond feeling tired, I felt

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease where various antibodies are mistakenly directed against healthy thyroid tissue, resulting in a destruction of these cells and consequent reduction in thyroid hormone levels (hypothyroidism). Health Central states that women are roughly twenty times more likely than men to be diagnosed with this condition. Given the potential for complications during pregnancy and the prevalence of Hashimoto’s in the female

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is a chronic autoimmune disorder of thyroid function, where the patient has lower than normal levels of thyroid hormones (caused by misdirection of antibodies), and is therefore in a hypothyroid state.  While thyroid physiology changes quite significantly in normal pregnancies (to accommodate the changing metabolic needs of the mother and fetus), hypothyroid states such as Hashimoto’s, which are considered pathologic (not normal), demand

After undergoing a partial thyroidectomy in June 2011, due to a benign inch size growth on my thyroid, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. According to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is the most common thyroid disease in the United States.  It is an inherited condition that affects more than 10 million Americans and is roughly seven times more common in women than in

If I wanted to test my kids’ blood levels to get a baseline (to compare against future tests/issues), what is the best age to do that? By law, children born in the United States are screened for hypothyroidism (low thyroid) shortly after birth.  Unless parents or physicians have specific concerns, relatively few children undergo thyroid testing again until they reach adulthood.  Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH),